Saturday, October 31, 2009

Bloggers Conference: what I'd say if I was there!

Sad to be missing the second European Wine Bloggers Conference which is taking place in Lisbon this weekend. But as an old-time wine blogger (indeed, I think the original wineanorak blog was the first wine blog in Europe), and as an opinionated git, I think I'd have plenty to say, along these lines:

1. Authenticity is everything. You have to be yourself as you blog, or else it won't ring true, and it will be hard work to write.

2. You have to write fast, without agonising over every sentence and planning your postings too carefully. Otherwise it will take too long and you'll lose interest.

3. Related to (2), you need to post frequently. Daily is the gold standard. Less than weekly, and it's not really a blog, and you'll find it hard to build readership.

4. You have to be incredibly patient, and keep persevering. Being good will get you only so far. There are plenty of people smarter and more engaging that I am, but their blogs failed because they didn't persevere.

4. Monetization. This only applies to content sites. If you become really successful, you might have enough traffic that you can carry adverts. But that's some way down the line for most people. For most, the only way to make money from a blog is indirectly. You show the world what a switched on, competent, literate, entertaining person you are and they hire you for gigs.

5. Be honest. Don't let people pay for entries on your blog. Don't take backhanders for positive write-ups. Always say what you think, not what important people would like to hear. Turning down a shady-sounding deal may cost in the short-term, but it will pay in the long-term.

6. For companies or wineries looking to blog, go for it. Everyone is now, to some degree, a content provider. The boundary between journalism and commerce is fading, which is no bad thing as long as everyone is transparent, authentic and honest. Wineries can talk about what they are doing without giving a sales pitch. Agents can talk about their producers in ways that don't sound like they are just bigging them up. The important thing is to put your company/winery blog in the hands of someone who can write and can engage with readers, and set them free to do it.

7. Social media stunts like the Murphy-Goode hire will get you lots of attention, but this is only useful if your product is exceptional and worth talking about. You can get your time in the spotlight, but do you really want it? Only if your product can stand the scrutiny.

8. We all have to promote ourselves. It comes with the territory. But you can promote yourself too much. You can get in other people's faces to a degree that, frankly, becomes annoying. And it's generally best left to others to tell the world how good you are. (So no straplines, 'frankly, the world's best wine blog', please!)

23 Comments:

Thanks for all the great advice, I need to be blogging more often! Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to make an effort to follow your advice!There is nothing worse than looking at a blog that is out of date!

Honesty is crucial. If you have a decent readership, and you try to pull something fast, at least one of your readers will call you out on it. It's OK to be caught being wrong, but it is game over if you are caught lying.

Bravo,good list. I have been told, by people who aren't as tuned into the bloggy-blog world as some of us, that they have a hard time reading blogs that post daily, or even three times a week. Not everyone is an early adapter.

Jamie. Trust you'll get the opportunity to taste some good Chenin Blanc in SA. Some good blogging advice. It was my first time at an EWBC and it was certainly worth it. Will be looking forward to the 2010 edition – see you there!

Very interesting post - maybe because I share your opinions and expressed them at the conference during the two panels I was invited to. By the reactions in the room, however, it seems like non bloggers don't share our opinion. I wonder if they are blog readers... I hope to see you next year at the conference to help us defend our position.

Pithy and to the point. There was lots of talk, discussion as well as wine tasting and socialising. I felt I learnt with people coming at blogging, as well as social media in general, from different angles and with different ideas.